Actor John Malkovich speaks with media at the King Edward Hotel in Toronto Thursday, hours before saving an injured tourist. Photo: AP

John Malkovich played the role of real-life hero, jumping to the aid of an injured tourist in Toronto and possibly saving his life before paramedics arrived, witnesses said.

The brilliantly creepy actor was in the right place at the right time for Ohio traveler Jim Walpole, when tripped on the street and slashed his own throat on scaffolding, according to published reports in Canada.

The freak accident nearly sliced opened Walpole’s artery or jugular veins on Thursday, when out of nowhere Malkovich appeared, took out a scarf and applied pressure to the man’s gaping wound.

“I asked, ‘What’s your name?’ He said, ‘John.’ And I didn’t ask the last name ’cause I didn’t figure I’d remember it anyhow,” Walpole said. “(Malkovich) took over just like a doctor.”

Walpole was rushed to St. Michael’s Hospital, where he received 10 stitches.

If the cut was “was an eighth of an inch further I would have had real trouble,” Walpole told the Toronto Star.

Malkovich is in Toronto, performing in “The Giacomo Variations.”

“I believe (Malkovich) was having a cigarette and witnessed the whole thing happening. He placed his hand and started applying pressure to the man’s neck didn’t let go until the ambulance arrived,” said Chris Mathias, a doorman at the nearby King Edward Hotel.

Walpole said he plans to catch up, watching Malkovich’s movies.

“I never had the opportunity to see him and thank him after the incident,” he said.